{"product_id":"the-tain-9780140455304","title":"The Tain","description":"\u003cb\u003e'[A] brilliant and altogether engaging new translation' (Los Angeles Times) of the greatest epic in Irish literature\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tain Bo Cualinge\u003c\/i\u003e, centrepiece of the eighth-century Ulster cycle of heroic tales, is Ireland's great epic, on par with \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Aeneid\u003c\/i\u003e. The story of the emergence of a hero, a paean to the Irish landscape, and a bawdy and contentious marital farce, \u003ci\u003eThe Tain\u003c\/i\u003e tells of a great cattle-raid, the invasion of Ulster by the armies of Medb and Ailill, Queen and King of Connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great Brown Bull of Cualige. The hero of the tale is Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who resists the invaders single-handed while Ulster's warriors lie sick. In its first translation in forty years, Ciaran Carson brings this seminal work of Irish literature fully to life, capturing all of its visceral power in what acclaimed poets Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon individually called one of the best books of the year. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCiaran Carson\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Belfast in 1948. His poetry collections include \u003ci\u003eThe New Estate; The Irish for No, Belfast Confetti\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the Irish Book Award and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize; \u003ci\u003eFirst Language\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the T.S. Eliot Prize; \u003ci\u003eOpera et Cetera\u003c\/i\u003e, which was a UK Poetry Book Society Choice; and \u003ci\u003eThe Twelfth of Never\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e The Ballad of HMS Belfast\u003c\/i\u003e. He has written two prose books, \u003ci\u003eThe Pocket Guide to Irish Traditional Music\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e Last Night's Fun\u003c\/i\u003e and one novel, \u003ci\u003eShamrock Tea\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a member of Aosdána and lives in Belfast.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50630305022226,"sku":"9780140455304","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_89eeef70-215e-44bd-9597-2011a87ef08a.jpg?v=1732749138","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-tain-9780140455304","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}